New street lights to save Doncaster Council millions

Councillor Bill Mordue.

A money-saving scheme to replace Doncaster’s 33,000 street lights with hi-tech lamps has been approved by council chiefs.

The current lights will be replaced with LED lanterns over the next two years, with hopes they will provide better lighting, while also reducing energy usage, carbon emissions and maintenance costs.

Street light.

They will cost £10m to install but save the authority £1.6m in running costs every year.

Doncaster Council’s cabinet approved the scheme on Wednesday.

Councillor Bill Mordue, cabinet member for highways, said: “The new lanterns last far longer than existing lamps, up to 20 years as opposed to the current six to eight year lifespan.

“A centrally managed computer system will make it possible to monitor and control each individual street light, so we will know if a lamp is faulty without the need for the public to report it to us.

“Because we will be able to control the direction of light with LEDs, there will be less light pollution both into the atmosphere and into people’s properties.”

Funding for the new lanterns will come mainly through an interest free loan from a government backed organisation called SALIX which supports major schemes that make significant environmental improvements.

LEDs will be fitted onto existing lampposts, which is designed to minimise any disruption to residents and businesses.

The new lighting can be controlled from a central location, which enables emergency services to request lighting levels to be raised in an area where they are dealing with a major incident.

The light given out by the lamps is said to be clearer than the existing yellow lamps, making road marking, signs and colours easier to see.

Work is due to begin at the end of the year, and residents will be kept informed of when the street lights in their area will be improved.